Forum for Peace and Reconciliation
The Forum for Peace and Reconciliation was a forum established by the government of Ireland in October 1994 as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.
Initiation
The Forum was envisaged in paragraph 11 of the Downing Street Declaration of December 1993:Preparations for the forum were triggered by the ceasefires announced in September 1994 by the republican Provisional IRA and loyalist UVF and UDA, whose associated political parties were thus invited to the forum. Sinn Féin accepted, while the loyalist PUP and UDP rejected, as did the mainstream unionist UUP and DUP. The presence of Sinn Féin alongside constitutional nationalist and centrist parties was considered a significant "confidence building measure"; substantive negotiations involving the unionist parties and the British government would not begin till the following year. The British ambassador was invited to the opening of the forum, but there was no other British involvement. Its terms of reference were:
Regular sessions
The forum's structure was modelled on the New Ireland Forum of 1983–84. It was chaired by Catherine McGuinness, then a judge of the Circuit Court, and had a secretariat with six members.. McGuinness' Protestant background was hoped to encourage unionist engagement with the forum. It first met in Saint Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle on 28 October 1994. It had 41 plenary sessions and commissioned several reports, and subcommittees began drafting responses to the reports. After the publication of the Joint Framework Document in February 1995, this became the focus of much of the Forum's deliberations.
The forum was drafting a final report "Paths to a Political Settlement: Realities, Principles and Requirements", which was leaked to the press on 2 February 1996. It was believed that Sinn Féin was objecting to the report's recognition of the "principle of consent"/"Unionist veto". The Forum published the draft in its "95% agreement" state. The Canary Wharf bombing on 9 February ended the IRA ceasefire and, with the continued participation of Sinn Féin in question, the Forum was adjourned.
Obstacles in the South to Reconciliation
Paragraph 6 of the Downing Street Declaration stated in part:Several of the reports the Forum commissioned addressed this issue, and a subcommittee was established on Obstacles in the South to Reconciliation. It considered the reports and made a draft report recommending changes to the Constitution of Ireland, as well as changing the Irish national anthem and tricolour flag. Details of its draft proposals were leaked in 1998. When the Forum was revived in 2002, the draft report was not published as it was felt the intervening events had rendered it obsolete.
Delegates
There were separate delegations for each political party with elected representatives in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, as well as independents, with "a democratic mandate and a commitment to resolving political differences by exclusively peaceful and democratic means". Unionist and loyalist parties refused to participate as delegates, though some unionists made presentations to the delegates in the public sessions. The delegations were proportional to parties' electoral strength, as follows:There were observers from the European Parliament and the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body.
Proceedings
The forum's public sessions were typically held once a week. The proceedings were subsequently published by the Stationery Office, Dublin:| No. | Dates | ISBN | Themes |
| 1 | 28 October 1994 | Inauguration | |
| 2 | 3, 18 November 1994 | ||
| 3 | 16 December 1994 | "The Economic consequences of Peace": "Building on the Peace Dividend", "Investing in Peace", "The American Role", and "The Role of the European Union" | |
| 4 | 20 January 1995 | "Participation in Social and Economic Reconstruction - sharing the Peace Dividend" | |
| 5 | 10 February 1995 | Presentation from Roy Garland; Debate on parity of esteem | |
| 6 | 17 February 1995 | Tourism; North-South Co-operation; the Washington Conference for Trade and Investment in Ireland | |
| 7 | 24 February 1995 | "Social and Economic Reconstruction - Securing the Rights and Interests of Children and Young People" | |
| 8 | 3 March 1995 | "North-South Co-operation in Agriculture and Agribusiness" | |
| 9 | 10 March 1995 | :Category:Law enforcement in Northern Ireland|Policing | |
| 10 | 23 March 1995 | Presentations from 'Forum for Change' and 'Northern Consensus' groups | |
| 11 | 24 March 1995 | Presentation by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Debate on "Fundamental Rights and Freedoms" | |
| 12 | 31 March 1995 | Presentation by Committee on the Administration of Justice and Irish Council for Civil Liberties; Debate on justice | |
| 13 | 7 April 1995 | Presentations by Colin Crawford and by 'Religious for Justice and Peace' and 'Drumcree Faith and Justice Group' | |
| 14 | 11 April 1995 | ||
| 15 | 12 April 1995 | Presentations by Robin Wilson and Simon Lee, the West Belfast Economic Forum and the Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland | |
| 16 | 5 May 1995 | Constitutional Issues in the Light of "A New Framework for Agreement" and other documents | |
| 17 | 12 May 1995 | ||
| 18 | 19 May 1995 | ||
| 19 | 2 June 1995 | ||
| 20 | 9 June 1995 | ||
| 21 | 16 June 1995 | ||
| 22 | 23 June 1995 | ||
| 23 | 30 June 1995 | Tributes on the death of Gordon Wilson | |
| 24 | 7 July 1995 | Presentation by Bow Group; review of work programme. | |
| 25 | 14 July 1995 | protection of rights; economic benefits of peace; obstacles in the South to reconciliation. | |
| 26 | 29 September 1995 | Debate on Reconciliation | |
| 27 | 6 October 1995 | Debate on the role of education in achieving reconciliation | |
| 28 | 20 October 1995 | Presentations from Norman Porter; Sam McAughtry; Meath Peace Group; The Interaction Group | |
| 29 | 10 November 1995 | Presentations from Campbell & Hadden and Bradley on their respective studies. | |
| 30 | 17 November 1995 | Victims of violence; prisoners' issues. | |
| 31 | 21 November 1995 | ||
| 32 | 15 December 1995 | Presentation of the five studies commissioned by the subcommittee on Obstacles in the South to Reconciliation | |
| 33 | 19 January 1996 | Presentation from the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. |
Later work
The Northern Ireland Forum established in 1996 became the focus of the peace process, with the relevance of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation called into question. After the IRA restored its ceasefire, in 1997, new Taoiseach Bertie Ahern envisaged further meetings "on an occasional basis". One was held on 5 December 1997, at which Ahern broached the possibility of amending Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution; after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement this was effected by a 1999 referendum. Based on the results of 1996 elections to the Northern Ireland Forum, invitations to the 1997 meeting were received and accepted by the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and Labour Party of Northern Ireland as well as the previous parties. Maurice Hayes replaced Gordon Wilson among the independent Senators.Asked about the Forum in 1999, Ahern said:
There were suggestions that it be revived in 2000 after the suspension of the Northern Ireland Executive, and again in December. Ahern said at the time, "It might come to that point but there are some other ideas we must try first. If it is going nowhere however, I will consider it". It was reconvened in late 2002 after further suspension of the Assembly following spying allegations. As Catherine McGuinness had in the meantime been appointed to the Supreme Court, Maurice Hayes replaced her as chairman. Compared to the 1997 delegates, the LPNI was absent while the Socialist Party was present. One session discussed the Holy Cross dispute in Belfast. The Forum's 2002–3 meetings failed to ameliorate the deadlock in the peace process.
In 2005, Mark Durkan of the SDLP called for it to be reconvened. In 2007, Ahern told the Dáil, "With the restoration of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, there are no current proposals to reconvene the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation." In 2010, the Forum's €5000 line item in the Department of the Taoiseach's annual budget estimate was deleted. In 2011, Senator Paul Bradford enquired anbout the Forum's status and suggested it might be revived as a truth and reconciliation commission. The Reconciliation Networking Forum established in 2006 is an annual forum to which the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade invites groups which promote reconciliation.
Influence
The Forum for Peace and Reconciliation and the National Economic and Social Forum provided a model for the National Forum on Europe established in 2001 after the referendum rejecting the Treaty of Nice.Publications
Some of the Forum's commissioned reports and submissions were published.- consisting of five studies commissioned by the subcommittee on Obstacles in the South to Reconciliation: